Synopses

Version 2.0

Sound Design in Games: A deck-based approach to a Pattern Language for Sound Design in Games, strongly influenced by Acoustic Ecology and subject to the principle that Sound Design in Games benefits from being embedded in the overall Game Design.

Achievement: Signalling something positive. Acoustic Ecology: Designing sound in a holistic way, as influenced by Acoustic Ecology Designing sound in a holistic way, as influenced by the discipline of Acoustic Ecology. Address Others: Enabling the PC to use sound to address NPCs. Aesthetics: Defining artistic characteristics common to all sounds. Affected Hearing: Simulating hearing impairment. Ambiance: Sounds of the environment. Anticipation: A phase of gameplay anticipating an engagement. Awareness: Sound promoting awareness for some gameplay aspect Sound signalling some relevant aspect of gameplay. Beacon Locator: Items that emit sound to ease their location. Breath: Perceptible sound of breathing. Character Soundprint: The set of sounds of a PC or NPC. Chitchat: NPC’s Dialogue that is not central to the course of action Dialogue that is not central to the course of action. Consequent Sound: Sound that matters to the gameworld Designing the game world so that is sensitive to sound. Contextual Music: Music specific to particular contexts or levels. Cut-ScenesCutscenes: Sound of the cut-scenes Sound of cinematic pieces. Death: Portraying death. Decay: A phase of gameplay of reestablishment after an engagement. Dialogue: All kinds of conversation. Diegetic Music: Music happening in the game world. Directionality: Exploring the identification of the direction of a sound source. Dubbing: Replacing original voices, to adapt to other language. Eavesdropping: Adopting behaviours with intention of gaining knowledge by listening to others' conversations. Echolocation: Using sound to perceive the environment. Emotional Script: Sound designed to contribute to the game’s emotional script Sound designed to elicit emotions along the experience. Engagement: A phase of gameplay of explicit conflict. Entrainment: Changing the player’s internal rhythms through acoustic stimulation, eventually inducing emotions and behaviour. Failure: Signalling something negative. Foley Music: Music made out of foley sounds Music exploring sounds of objects or actions. Foley: Sounds of ongoing actions. Footsteps: The sound of footsteps (extensible to any kind of being). Grunts: Utterances associated to physical actions or conditions. Heartbeat: Perceptible sound of heartbeating. Helper Voice: Conveying guidance through the voice of disembodied or remote entities. Hurry Up!: Contributing for the sense of urge in completing something. Identification: Promoting the recognition of entities through their distinctive soundprints. Imminent Death: Urging a change of behaviour to avoid death. In-game Feedback: In-game feedback on sound input performance Providing indicators on the player's acoustic performance. Levelled Performance: The progressive sophistication of gameplay performative actions The progressive sophistication of sound related performative actions. Make Sound not War: Sound supporting creative alternatives to conflict Exploring sound to create alternatives to conflict. Menus: Sounds in game menus. Music: All kinds of music heard during the game. Musical Outcome: Music generated as a by-product of in-game actions. Narrative: The contributions of sound to the narrative The contributions of sound to unfold the game's story. Narrator: Resorting to an actual narrator to convey the narrative. No Can Do: Signalling something impossible. Noise: The purposeful use of noise. Ouch!: Signalling a painful or damaging interaction. Pitch Gameplay: Exploring the tonal accuracy of the player’s voiced input. R-A-E-D Iterations: Iterations of the sequence: Relaxation → Anticipation → Engagement → Decay. Radio: Actual radio receivers with relevant emission. Audio LogsRecordings: Dialogue recordings, frequently scattered through the gameworld Recorded dialogue, frequently scattered through the game world. Relaxation: A phase of gameplay promoting relaxation A phase of gameplay promoting a restful state of mind. Revelation: Expressing an encounter with something special. Play the BeatRhythm Gameplay: Acting in sync with a rhythm. Say that Again: Allowing the PC/player to request to hear again. Seeking for PC: NPC’s manifestations of active chasing of the PC. Shout and Yell: NPC’s loud utterances during engagement Loud manifestations of hostility. Signature: Memorable association between sound and source Creating a distinctive and memorable association with a sound. Silence: Inducing the perception of the absence of sound. Sing to Act: Performing songs to achieve a purpose. Sonic Weapon: Using sound as a weapon Using sound to inflict damage. Sound Decoys: Using sound to fool the NPC Using sound to fool the opponents. Sound Effects: Sounds that make abstract or imaginary objects concrete. Sound Input: The way sound enters the game world. Sound Suppressing: Enabling the reduction of PC generated sounds. Sound Visualization: Graphical perception of the occurrence of sound. Stealth: Low profile behaviours that include adopting a small soundprint. Subtitles and Captions: Text that represents occurring sound. Suspicious NPC: NPC’s behaviours evidencing suspicion for the PC’s presence. Thoughts: Revealing what a character is thinking of. Time Twist: Using sound to enhance the perception of time manipulations. Title Screens: Sound during the presentation of a game product. Trance: Sound contributing for trance during the experience Sound contributing to experiencing flow or deep immersion. Unaware NPC: NPC’s behaviours evidencing unawareness of PC’s presenceNPC’s behaviours evidencing that the PC remains unnoticed. Requisite VarietyVariety: Triggering alternate sounds not to compromise the experience. Voice Acting: Performing and recording voices for characters and/or narrators. Window of Opportunity: Enhancing the perception of a short time opportunity Enhancing the perception of a temporary possibility or favourable state.

Version 1.0

Sound Design in Games: A deck-based approach to a Pattern Language for Sound Design in Games, strongly influenced by Acoustic Ecology and subject to the principle that Sound Design in Games benefits from being embedded in the overall Game Design.

Achievement: Signalling something positive. Acoustic Ecology: Designing sound in a holistic way, as influenced by Acoustic Ecology. Address Others: Enabling the PC to use sound to address NPCs. Ambiance: Sounds of the environment. Anticipation: A phase of gameplay anticipating an engagement. Audio Logs: Dialogue recordings, frequently scattered through the gameworld. Awareness: Sound promoting awareness for some gameplay aspect. Beacon Locator: Items that emit sound to ease their location. Breath: Perceptible sound of breathing. Character Soundprint: The set of sounds of a PC or NPC. Chitchat: NPC’s Dialogue that is not central to the course of action. Consequent Sound: Sound that matters to the gameworld. Contextual Music: Music specific to particular contexts or levels. Cut-Scenes: Sound of the cut-scenes. Death: Portraying death. Decay: A phase of gameplay of reestablishment after an engagement. Dialogue: All kinds of conversation. Diegetic Music: Music happening in the game world. Dubbing: Replacing original voices, to adapt to other language. Eavesdropping: Adopting behaviours with intention of gaining knowledge by listening to others' conversations. Echolocation: Using sound to perceive the environment. Emotional Script: Sound designed to contribute to the game’s emotional script. Engagement: A phase of gameplay of explicit conflict. Entrainment: Changing the player’s internal rhythms through acoustic stimulation, eventually inducing emotions and behaviour. Failure: Signalling something negative. Foley: Sounds of ongoing actions. Foley Music: Music made out of foley sounds. Footsteps: The sound of footsteps (extensible to any kind of being). Gameplay: All kinds of sound happening and being performed during gameplay. Genre: Characteristics of gameplay. Grunts: Utterances associated to physical actions or conditions. Heartbeat: Perceptible sound of heartbeating. Hurry Up!: Contributing for the sense of urge in completing something. Identification: Promoting the recognition of entities through their distinctive soundprints. Imminent Death: Urging a change of behaviour to avoid death. In-game Feedback: In-game feedback on sound input performance. Levelled Performance: The progressive sophistication of gameplay performative actions. Make Sound not War: Sound supporting creative alternatives to conflict. Menus: Sounds in game menus. Music: All kinds of music heard during the game. Musical Outcome: Music generated as a by-product of in-game actions. Narrative: The contributions of sound to the narrative. No Can Do: Signalling something impossible. Ouch!: Signalling a painful or damaging interaction. Play the Beat: Acting in sync with a rhythm. R-A-E-D Iterations: Iterations of the sequence: Relaxation → Anticipation → Engagement → Decay. Relaxation: A phase of gameplay promoting relaxation. Requisite Variety: Triggering alternate sounds not to compromise the experience. Say that Again: Allowing the PC/player to request to hear again. Seeking for PC: NPC’s manifestations of active chasing of the PC. Shout and Yell: Loud manifestations of hostility. (updated in v2.0)Signature: Memorable association between sound and source. Sing to Act: Performing songs to achieve a purpose. Sonic Weapon: Using sound as a weapon. Sound Decoys: Using sound to fool the NPC. Sound Effects: Sounds that make abstract or imaginary objects concrete. Sound Input: The way sound enters the gameworld. Sound Layers and Semantics: Grouping design decisions according to their semantics. Sound Places: Components of a product where sound may appear. Sound Suppressing: Enabling the reduction of PC generated sounds. Sound Visualization: Graphical perception of the occurrence of sound. Stealth: Low profile behaviours that include adopting a small soundprint. Subtitles and Captions: Text that represents occurring sound. Title Screens: Sound during the presentation of a game product. Trance: Sound contributing for trance during the experience. Unaware NPC: NPC’s behaviours evidencing unawareness of PC’s presence. Voice Acting: Performing and recording voices for characters and/or narrators. Window of Opportunity: Enhancing the perception of a short time opportunity.